Members of Congress Voted to Protect Taxpayer Handouts & Accepted Campaign Cash During Six Months

WASHINGTON – Some of Big Oil’s most loyal defenders raked in plenty of campaign cash from the nation’s most profitable oil companies even while they voted to protect taxpayer handouts to those same companies. U.S. House members who supported these unnecessary handouts received a total of $1.2 million from the political action committees (PACs) of the top U.S.

Washington, D.C.—Campaign finance watchdog Public Campaign Action Fund blasted Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) for leading his subcommittee’s efforts to provide hand outs to big money donors as part of the appropriations process. Simpson is chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, which this afternoon passed an appropriations bill that would 1) restrict funding to protect public health and the environment, 2) expand offshore drilling, and 3) weaken rules on greenhouse gas emissions and pollution standards.

Washington, D.C.—Energy Action Coalition and Public Campaign Action Fund blasted Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) today for his legislation, S. 953, that would dramatically expand offshore oil drilling in the country, another handout to his Big Oil donors, just weeks after his push to gut the Clean Air Act and a day after he voted against ending subsidies for big oil companies.

Washington, D.C.--As representatives of the biggest oil companies are called to testify in front of the Senate Finance Committee today about oil and gas tax subsidies and rising energy prices, environmental and campaign finance reform groups pointed to the millions of dollars Senators have received from oil and gas company donors and PACs since 1999.

Washington, D.C.---U.S. House members who defeated a measure to begin debate on legislation to end certain subsidies for oil companies received five times more in campaign contributions, on average, from the oil and gas industry in the 2010 election cycle than those who voted to proceed with the motion, according to campaign watchdog Public Campaign Action Fund.

On March 2, Public Campaign Action Fund and the League of Conservation Voters criticized several U.S. House members for voting against a measure that would've temporarily ended wasteful and unnecessary taxpayer subsidies for oil companies. The members--both Democrats and Republicans--all took tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from oil and gas interests during their time in Congress.

Reps. Take $450k in Campaign Cash from Industry

Washington, D.C.—Longtime Republican Reps. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) and Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) have pledged to reward big oil and coal interests after taking nearly $450,000 in campaign cash from them over the years, according to nonpartisan campaign watchdog Public Campaign Action Fund’s analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics.